A sudden bout of intense downpour that started on Sunday night and continued till Monday morning led to water-logging in Jalpaiguri and Dhupguri towns of Jalpaiguri district.

The downpour also led to a landslide on NH10 near Kalijhora, around 30km from Siliguri, on Monday morning. Traffic movement along the highway that connects Sikkim and Kalimpong came to a halt between 8.30am and 10.30am. The state PWD engaged workers to clear boulders and debris to create a passage for vehicles in a couple of hours.

In both Jalpaiguri and Dhupguri towns, thousands of residents had to trudge through knee-deep or waist-deep water as the rain flooded streets and lanes. As it didn’t rain later on Monday, water eventually receded from these localities by afternoon.

In Jalpaiguri, most areas of wards 1, 2, 3, 19 and 25 got waterlogged. Also, reports of waterlogging came from low-lying areas of some other wards.

“Rain has again exposed the pathetic drainage system of Jalpaiguri town. Last year, there had been rainfall but scattered. Last night’s heavy downpour proved that there has been no change in the sewerage,” said an aggrieved resident of Pandapara, a residential area of the town.

Sources at the Regional Met Office in Jalpaiguri said in the past 24 hours, that is, till 8.30am on Monday, it rained 185mm in Jalpaiguri, 145mm in Maynaguri and 156mm in Banarhat. There being no rain gauge in Dhupguri, rainfall can’t be measured there.

“There is a forecast of similar weather conditions during the next couple of days,” said a source.

Along with the foothills, as it is raining in Darjeeling and Sikkim hills and also in Bhutan, water levels of rivers have increased. The state irrigation department has issued a yellow (primary) alert in unprotected areas (where there are no embankments) on both banks of the river.

Papia Pal, the chairperson of Jalpaiguri municipality, said that excess rainfall caused waterlogging in some wards.

“We have distributed relief materials including food and drinking water among distressed families. The councillors are monitoring the distribution. Workers have been engaged so that the water can be channelised through drains,” she said.

In Dhupguri, many residents, including local traders, resorted to a demonstration on NH27 to protest bad road conditions and waterlogging.

“Time and again, we have urged the local civic body to improve the drainage system but nothing has been done so far. Every year during the monsoons, the arterial road of the town gets waterlogged,” said a disgruntled trader.